SRI LANKA: YOUNG BOYS GET MARRIED TO AVOID LTTE RECRUITMENTS [FEBRUARY 07, 2003]

Children as young as 15 years old get married in order to avoid being forced to become combatants by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). According to the rebels code, married men cannot be recruited. Children who are unmarried are often recruited into the LTTE and forced to sever all family ties and carry cyanide tablets so that they can commit suicide in case they are captured.
Young teen couples can be seen all over the north-eastern regions of Sri Lanka as parents rush to get their children married off as soon as possible. The legal age for marriage in Sri Lanka is 18. [Source: The Straits Times]

VIETNAM: 1 CHILD KILLED AND 5 INJURED BY AMERICAN WAR RELIC [FEBRUARY 07, 2003]

A 7-year-old boy was killed and 5 of his friends received injuries in central Vietnam when an American made shell detonated while they were playing with it.The incident occurred in the Quang Tri province, one of the bloodiest scenes of the American war against Vietnam.
Demining agencies estimate that there are at least 1,200 deaths every year in Vietnam due to unexploded ordnances. [Source: Asia Pacific]

CHILD SOLDIERS: OTUNNU POINTS TO SIERRA LEONE AS MODEL FOR DEMOBILISATION [FEBRUARY 07, 2003]

UN special representative on children and armed conflict Olara Otunnu told West African leaders Friday that countries affected by conflict should look to Sierra Leone as a model in dealing with the demobilisation and reintegration of child soldiers.
Sierra Leonean programs ranging from a national commission on war-affected children to a special youth radio station called The Voice of the Children have helped in demobilising some 7,000 child soldiers and reintegrating them into society, Otunnu said on the closing day of the Economic Community of West African States summit in Dakar, Senegal. He also cited last year's establishment of a special court focused on crimes against children. [source: UN Wire]